5 Surprising Ways Floating Improves Your Mental & Physical Well-Being

When an old, crunchy-granola roommate first described the concept of floating to me, I thought she'd had one kombucha too many. Who would want to voluntarily spend time suspended naked in an enclosed space filled with saltwater?

But then, one afternoon I stumbled into the Samana Float Center—a Denver studio that looked like a hybrid between a high-end spa and high-tech laboratory, decorated with candles and scientific literature on sensory deprivation.

 The owners, a lovely couple named Paul and Heather, discovered floating serendipitously and decided to sell their house and everything they owned to open the center to help as many people as possible experience the life-changing benefits of floating. I was still slightly skeptical, but their story intrigued me enough to dive in.

Due to my mild claustrophobia, I first tried floating inside a large cabin with a 7-foot ceiling but quickly realized that once inside, the sensation of being completely deprived of any sensations overtakes any other feeling. Floating is like meditation on crack—it's an instantaneous shortcut to that elusive flowlike mind-state, unfettered by distractions.

The next time I opted for the futuristic pod that looks like something out of Gattaca, and the more I floated, the more I realized that the benefits of floating are endless and can be customized to your personal goals.

Here are five reasons to try floating:

1. It's instant meditation.

If one shortcut to meditation exists, it's floating. Many people find it challenging to attempt even five minutes of meditation, but floating forces you to just let go and breathe. The water temperature is at a skin-responsive 93.5, so you can't even tell where the water ends and where you begin. There are no noises or lights to interfere with focusing on your breath. It's a gentle introduction to the meditative mindset, and all it requires you to do is relax into the water.

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